Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.
Basic Requirements:
- United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
- English Language Proficiency. Therapeutic Medical Physicist (TMP) must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).
- Education: Master's degree or higher in a physics, science, or engineering discipline recognized by an accredited college or university with at least 30 semester hours in medical physics, health physics, radiological science, physics, engineering, chemistry, or biology; or an equivalent foreign degree and coursework substantiated by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services.
- Board Certification: Persons hired or reassigned to TMP positions in the VHA must be board certified in the field of therapeutic medical physics by an approved certifying body. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirements for continuing education.
- Approved Certifying Bodies
- (a) The American Board of Radiology (ABR) in any of the following field titles:
- Therapeutic Medical Physics
- Therapeutic Radiologic or Therapeutic Radiological Physics
- Radiologic Physics or Radiological Physics
- (b) The American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics.
- (c) The Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics.
Grade Determinations:
GS-14 Supervisory Therapeutic Medical Physicist
Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, completion of a minimum of 1 year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS13-Full Performance level).
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.(KSAs) In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate, in their resume, the following KSAs:
1. Ability to oversee the technical development and implementation of new radiotherapy techniques and modalities. This includes knowledge of current standards of care, VA policies, trends and changes in delivery technology, as well as fair, principled, and decisive leadership practices.
2. Ability to optimize technical infrastructure and workflow for streamlined operations in the department of radiation oncology. This includes the knowledge and application of techniques such as Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA).
3. Ability to assess the qualifications and abilities of current and prospective employees, to include staff performance evaluations and professional development.
4. Advanced knowledge of regulatory requirements, manufacturer's standards, and professional society guidelines for performing quality assurance of radiation therapy equipment to include accelerators, simulators, and high dose rate/low dose rate brachytherapy delivery systems.
5. Ability to use written and verbal communication with a strong command of technical writing considerations.
6. Ability to collaborate with the members of other disciplines and supervisors and to represent the profession both in and outside of VHA. This includes knowledge of the roles, contributions, and interrelationships with other health care specialties and supporting divisions.
7. Knowledge of instructional methods and documenting competencies.
8. Ability to manage and supervises employees.
Preferred Experience: SBRT Experience
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit
https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS 14.
Physical Requirements: Heavy Lifting (45 lbs. and over); Heavy Carrying (45 lbs. and over); Straight Pulling (up to 4 hours); Pushing (1 - 2 hours); Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; Both hands required; Walking (up to 8 hours); Standing (up to 8 hours); Repeated bending (up to 4 hour); Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Near vision correctable at 13" to 16"; Hearing (aid permitted).